Partnering with corporations

For over 150 years, the ICRC has worked with the private sector, with governments and other parties to help people affected by conflict or armed violence. By working together we can adapt more quickly, see complex risks more clearly, share and innovate more freely and invest our resources wisely, whilst creating shared value for both partners.

The nature of crisis – of armed conflict and natural disasters – is evolving rapidly. Emergencies are more complex than ever before. As a result, organizations of all kinds are striving to understand how to continue operating at a time when old assumptions are constantly coming into question. Businesses and humanitarian organizations must understand and adapt to the new challenges, opportunities and liabilities if they wish to continue having a meaningful and lasting social impact.

I believe that, where we can find common ground, we can create partnerships based on our shared humanity, and together we can and will find creative solutions to the most intractable challenges.

The ICRC corporate partnership team will develop a bespoke relationship with you that meets your priority objectives. We are proud to partner with worldwide leading companies and organisations to save and improve the lives of people affected by conflict and armed violence. There is tremendous potential for innovative companies to become pioneers in the area of partnership with the ICRC and to provide support for our operations worldwide.

By working with us you are part of the unique Red Cross movement; the largest humanitarian network in the world.

Collaboration based on joint needs. We will work with you to understand and meet your priority needs.

Increased staff motivation. We can advise you on best practice, logistics regarding donations raised and how you can use your employees' activities to benefit your strategic business objectives.

Enhanced reputation with customers. A simple, yet effective way to work with the ICRC while also effectively communicating the quality of your brand values to your customers.

Knowledge and expertise exchange. We encourage our partners to learn from and share successes in order to innovate together.

The ICRC offers corporate partners a variety of options for joining our international emergency relief efforts or for supporting our response to 'forgotten' crises that do not get sufficient attention from global media.

Humanitarian dialogueBy working closely with the private sector we can continue to adapt, and solve, new challenges faced by the nature of armed conflict and natural disasters.

Exchange expertiseHelp the ICRC solve some of its most intractable operational challenges: how to most quickly deliver materials to war-torn areas; how to use digital mapping to chart needs or how best to reconnect family members separated by conflict. Our collaboration possibilities cover a broad range of sectors from telemedicine to logistics.

DonateYou can choose to support our ongoing emergency appeals or we can create a proposal adapted to the issues and geographical regions you are interested in. Our work is funded entirely by government and voluntary donations.

Employee Engagement

Employee giving programmes have been found to enhance employee motivation and have contributed substantially to ICRC operations. We offer various tools for your internal (and external) communication and fundraising initiatives, including support for matched-giving.

Join our Corporate Support GroupBe part of our core team of partners to discuss, share and invest in lasting humanitarian action.

The Corporate Support Group (CSG) is a forum for like-minded companies and foundations, united by our humanitarian aims and ideals.

The impact of your supportWe work with our members to explore the possibilities for collaboration on issues of mutual benefit, including risk management, situational analysis, logistics, and, operational challenges in fragile States or high-risk contexts. The ICRC looks to our CSG members for initiatives to find innovative solutions to specific strategic challenges that we face.

Exclusive benefitsAs a member you will receive; invitations to the CSG annual meetings with the President and high level management of the ICRC, ad hoc meetings with senior representatives, field trips, secondment opportunities, briefings by experts, inclusion in the ICRC's annual report, 'preferred partner' status for specific events and campaigns, audiovisual materials, and use of the ICRC's name, image and logo (in accordance with established guidelines).

How to become a memberCSG members contribute to funding the ICRC's work over six-year periods. The relationship involves the ICRC and CSG members aligning their assets and skills in order to maximize the impact and value of their combined humanitarian efforts. If you are interested in becoming a member of the ICRC Corporate Support Group, please contact us below.

Our current Corporate Support Group members

ABB

Avina Stiftung

Credit Suisse

Fondation Hans Wilsdorf

Fondation Lombard Odier

Holcim

Novartis

Philips Foundation

Roche

Swiss Re

Vontobel

Zürich

Ever since its inception, the ICRC has worked with the private sector, and with governments and other partners to develop innovative ways to help people suffering under the weight of war

That tradition of innovating from necessity – to meet humanity's most urgent demands – continues in modern times. For example, the ICRC has been a leader in supporting programmes through which victims of war themselves help develop and build low-cost prostheses for other casualties of war. It has used cash grants and loans as means to help people start small businesses, or small agricultural ventures. In the field of war surgery, its medical personnel have found new solutions for saving lives during conflict, which have influenced the way medicine is practised around the world.

Humanitarians are often driven by a natural curiosity and desire to find solutions to complex problems. In an effort to capitalize on that spirit, the ICRC has created a special innovation unit, strategically located within the office of the director-general; this is a platform within the institution for liaison with private corporations in order to test new and innovative ideas.

GPHI2 is a unique platform that draws on the knowledge and experience of the largest humanitarian network in the world – The Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement – and leverages the creative capacity of corporate and other partners to tackle key humanitarian challenges.

The GPHI2 gathers thought shapers and innovators from a broad range of sectors around one common purpose: improving the impact of humanitarian action.